The expansion work on the Ring Road at Mohammadpur has not progressed for over a month despite two attempts by the Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) to evict an illegal market on its land.

This has increased the sufferings of the commuters who use this route daily.

The Majid Market at Uttar Adabar is now a major hindrance to the expansion work along this route.

"This road has remained in a run down condition for a long time. The expansion work started in September and we breathed a sigh of relief. But now we are frustrated again as the work has come to a standstill," said Kamal Uddin, a local resident.

"The dry season is also aggravating our woes as dust hang in the air threatening the health. Although trucks are prohibited from plying the roads of the city during the day, hundreds of trucks still use this route night and day making it very dusty," added Kamal.

"For a number of reasons, development work on the Ring Road has hit a snag. A good portion of the DCC's land along the road has been occupied for a long time.

Except the market, we have managed to recover all our land from illegal owners," said Abdus Salam, project director of Ring Road Expansion project.

"The illegal market will be demolished soon and the expansion work will resume in near future. The work was scheduled to be finished by this December but will now be completed in March 2004," vowed Salam.

The DCC initiated the work to turn the existing 30 foot road into a 100 foot one at a cost of Tk. Eight crore to manage the ever-increasing traffic that ply the Ring Road.